In the midst of Michigan’s recent “Right To Work” debate, stories circulated on this site and others of union thugs attacking reporters, knocking over tents owned by Americans for Prosperity, and other dubious encounters. Less reported though was the war waged on Michigan’s airwaves against Governor Rick Snyder and the GOP agenda in the state legislature.

Former failed Gubernatorial candidate and notorious trial lawyer Geoffrey Fieger weighed into the “Right To Work” debate with a heinous ad comparing Michigan employers to slaveowners, and workers to indentured servants. This ad played for several weeks on multiple well-known Detroit-area radio stations, including the local affiliate for all four of Detroit’s major sports teams, and the local affiliate for the Rush Limbaugh show.

Claiming the the GOP majority in Lansing was “destroying our Michigan way of life,” Fieger went on to to angrily declare that “right to work is about rich corporations that want to destroy unions and make people work for nothing.”

After more leftist fear-mongering, Fieger ends by asking if Michigan “really wants to go back to a time when workers had no rights, and were literally OWNED by the corporations? God help Michigan.”

Fieger himself is no stranger to controversy. According to Wikipedia, during his 1998 campaign as the Democratic nominee for governor, in which he garnered less than 40% of the vote against popular GOP governor John Engler, Fieger made more than a few controversial statements:

an assertion that his opponent John Engler was the product of barnyard miscegenation

a claim that “rabbis are closer to Nazis than they think.”

a radio appearance characterizing Michigan appellate judges as “jackasses” for overturning a 15 million dollar medical malpractice judgment he had won. (A lower court reprimand based on these comments was eventually upheld by the Michigan Supreme Court.)

In 2007, Fieger was indicted on federal charges of campaign finance law violation. Though acquitted, he was accused of funneling $127,000 to John Edwards’ Presidential campaign.

The desperation and ridiculousness of the attacks on the GOP legislature in Michigan belie the arguments of the left. For them, right to work is about maintaining their power base in the unions, and keeping the forced contributions to Democratic political operations flowing. Fieger is no exception.